The boys prep basketball season tipped off on Tuesday with several Twin Harbors teams in action.
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BOYS PREP BASKETBALL
R.A. Long 85, Aberdeen 50
After a strong start, Aberdeen struggled in suffering an 85-50 loss to R.A. Long on Tuesday at Sam Benn Gym in Aberdeen.
The Bobcats (0-1 overall) played close with the much taller Lumberjacks (1-0) through the first period, holding an 11-10 lead after junior Gabe Matthews hit a bank-shot 3-pointer with 2:51 to play in the first quarter.
Playing with an up-tempo pace, Aberdeen tied the game at 14-all on a three by junior guard Xanto Raya, but R.A. Long ended the quarter on a 5-0 run and carried that momentum throughout the second quarter.
R.A. Long went on a 14-0 run to start the second quarter – thanks in large part to a press defense that caused many an Aberdeen turnover – stretching what was a five-point Aberdeen deficit into a 33-14 Lumberjacks lead with just under five minutes to play in the first half.
Aberdeen had four turnovers and an eight-second violation over the first three minutes of the second frame.
R.A. Long also used its height to crash the boards against the undersized Bobcats to earn second, third and fourth chances to extend its lead to 42-22 by halftime.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen junior Isaac Garcia (12) defends against R.A. Long’s Jeffrey Rooklidge during the Bobcats’ 85-50 season-opening loss on Tuesday in Aberdeen.
In the second half, the Lumberjacks took a 54-24 lead on a three by senior guard Payton Thill and held as much as a 37-point lead on a pair of free throws from junior guard Cameron Newsome to take a 65-28 lead late in the third quarter.
Aberdeen had its highest scoring quarter in the final period of the game with 16 points – seven by senior Tarren Lewis – en route to the season-opening defeat.
The Bobcats shot 18 of 43 from the field (41.8%), including 6 of 20 (30%) from beyond the arc, and had 18 rebounds while committing 22 turnovers in the game.
Lewis led Aberdeen with 13 points, three rebounds and two steals.
Bobcats juniors Isaac Garcia and Floyd Jones also scored in double digits with 11 points apiece.
Aberdeen plays at Mark Morris at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen junior guard Floyd Jones (left) makes a pass during an 85-50 loss to R.A. Long on Tuesday at Sam Benn Gym in Aberdeen.
R.A. Long 19 23 23 20 – 85
Aberdeen 14 8 12 16 – 50
Scoring: R.A. Long – Irwin 18, Young 16, Crane 11, Thill 8, Newsome 8, Jenkins 7, Rooklidge 6, Herrera 5, Wilson 3, Lindsey 2, Coates 1. Aberdeen – Lewis 13, Garcia 11, Jones 11, Mathews 4, Raya 3, O’Brien 3, Quezada 2, Kelly 2, Scott 1.
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Elma 56, Centralia 46
Elma controlled the game from start to finish to earn a season-opening 56-46 win over Centralia on Tuesday at Centralia High School.
The Eagles (1-0) led throughout the game but were unable to pull away from the Tigers (0-1), who trailed 29-24 at halftime after going on a 9-0 run in the second quarter to keep the game close.
The Eagles outscored Centralia by six to lead 46-35 heading into the fourth quarter, where the two teams played relatively even as Elma left with the victory.
“Boy was that incredibly ugly, but very much expected for our first game,” said Eagles head coach Matt Ferrier, whose team shot 38% from the field on 21-of-55 shooting. “We did enough to win. We are trying to mix and match new guys with some very tenured varsity guys. Trying to identify who we are is going to take some time.”
Junior forward Isaac McGaffey led Elma with a double-double, scoring 12 points while pulling down a team-high 11 rebounds. McGaffey added five assists and four steals to his stat line.
Senior guard Theo Flores scored a team-best 16 points on 6-of-13 (46%) shooting while dishing out five assists for Elma.
Elma went 12 of 20 (60%) from the free-throw line and had 31 rebounds, 13 assists, eight steals, 15 turnovers and 14 personal fouls as a team.
The Eagles host Raymond-South Bend at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Elma 16 13 17 10 – 56
Centralia 11 13 11 11 – 46
Scoring: Elma – Flores 16, McGaffey 12, Carter 7, Webb 6, Myer 6, Olson 4, Schneider 2, Wood 2, Moe 1. Centralia – Daarud 19, J. Yeung 7, K. Yeung 6, Sanders 4, Stratton 4, Griffis 3, Dado Navarrete 2, Wu 1.
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Hoquiam 53, Willapa Valley 51
Hoquiam hit 3 of 4 free throws in the final minute to edge Willapa Valley 53-51 in a season-opening game on Tuesday at Hoquiam Square Garden.
The Grizzlies (1-0) led by as much as 10 points in the third quarter but Valley (0-1) rallied to keep the game close, trailing 37-34 entering the fourth period.
With time winding down in the final frame, Valley’s Nathan Fluke scored and was fouled. The senior guard converted the free throw to put the Vikings up 51-50.
Hoquiam regained the lead when Joey Bozich was fouled and converted both free throws for a 52-51 lead.
The Grizzlies defense came up with a stop and Valley was forced to foul, with Hoquiam’s Ryker Maxfield hitting 1 of 2 free throws for a 53-51 lead.
With just enough time for one final Hail-Mary attempt, a Vikings three-quarters court shot hit the back of the rim and went out, sealing Hoquiam’s narrow victory.
“There were some positives,” Hoquiam head coach Jeff Niemi said of the win. “We had three guys in double figures tonight, almost four. That was something we rarely got last year. That was very encouraging. I thought our defensive effort on the initial shot was really good.”
Sophomore point guard Lincoln Niemi had 17 points to lead Hoquiam.
Maxfield (14 points) and Bozich (10) also scored in double digits for the Grizzlies, which shot 18 of 33 (54.5%) as a team, including 7 of 15 (46.6%) from 3-point range.
But the Grizzlies were outrebounded 31-23 – including a 19-2 disparity on the offensive glass in the first half – and committed 26 turnovers in the game.
“We did not rebound well in the first half at all. They pounded us on the offensive glass,” Coach Niemi said. “In all the years I’ve been coaching, that’s one of the worst rebounding numbers I’ve had. So obviously, that’s a big thing we need to work on. The game got really frantic down the stretch. We ended up with 26 turnovers, which is unacceptable too.”
The Vikings were led by junior guard Brody Ritzman with 15 points and four steals while Fluke and sophomore power forward Brody Aust added 12 points apiece for Valley.
Valley junior center JB Russell scored 10 points to finish in double-digits.
“I thought we played hard tonight and we rebounded the ball well as a team,” Valley head coach Derek Rask said. “We fought to stay in the game after a poor third quarter and we gave ourselves a chance to win down the stretch. We just came up a little short.”
The Vikings take on Columbia Adventist at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday in Battle Ground.
Hoquiam plays at the Native American Classic this weekend at Wenatchee Valley College.
The Grizzlies will face Lake Roosevelt at 6 p.m. on Friday followed by a matchup against Chelan at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Willapa Valley 11 15 8 17 – 51
Hoquiam 13 16 8 16 – 53
Scoring: WV – Ritzman 15, Fluke 12, Aust 12, Russell 10, Lusk 5.
Hoquiam – Niemi 17, Maxfield 14, Bozich 10, Azevedo 8, Byron 2, Dayton 2.
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Other games
Wahkiakum 68, Taholah 36
Pe Ell 53, North Beach 39 (Monday)
